$259M FedEx distribution center in Greenwood would pay wages of up to $24.55 an hour

As Indiana's unemployment rate falls, companies such as UPS, FedEx and Amazon, have had to offer higher wages and incentives to applicants. Employees who do well in seasonal jobs also have a chance at permanent employment. (Dwight Adams/IndyStar)
Wochit

FedEx is planning to build a $259 million distribution center in Greenwood, Ind., that would be a major boon to employment in the Indianapolis area.

The center, described as a "hub spinoff" of the Northern Kentucky Hub, would employ 455 employees, FedEx told the city's Redevelopment Commission. That would include 80 full-time jobs paying $24.55 an hour and 375 part-time jobs paying $14.24 an hour. Benefits, including a pension, would be included.

The 608,000-square-foot facility, encompassing 237 acres, would be built along East Worthsville Road, east of I-65, an area that the Johnson County community has long viewed for future growth.

"It's a big project for Greenwood," said Mike Campbell, president of the Greenwood City Council and a member of the Redevelopment Commission.

Campbell said construction could start as early as next spring and finish by the summer of 2019. The new distribution center, which would handle ground delivery of smaller packages, could be up and running by 2020, he said, after equipment is installed.

FedEx Ground Package System applied for property tax abatements worth $17.2 million over a 10-year period at Tuesday's meeting of the Redevelopment Commission. After the abatement, FedEx would pay nearly $30 million in taxes over that period.

The commission forwarded a recommendation to approve the abatement request to the Greenwood City Council.

Campbell said he doesn't expect the request for tax breaks to be much of an issue, adding that it should be "a really easy sell to the council."

"FedEx is an international company," he said. "Having this come to Greenwood will be really key to the growth of the community. It will take it from the long term to the short term."

A diverging diamond interchange was completed a few years ago at I-65 and Worthsville Road to open the rural area to commercial and industrial development.